Sir Ray Davies has confirmed The Kinks are getting back together.
The ‘Waterloo Sunset’ hitmaker recently admitted his brother Dave Davies and former bandmate Mick Avory – who he has had a famously tense relationship with – were still on frosty terms, but it looks like the trio have finally buried the hatchet as they’re set to reunite for the first time in more than 20 years to record a new album together.
Speaking to Channel 4 News, the 74-year-old singer said when pressed on a reunion: "Officially we are…in the pub later on. The trouble is, the two remaining members – my brother Dave and Mick – never got along very well. But I’ve made that work in the studio and it’s fired me up to make them play harder, and with fire."
Ray has admitted he was inspired by the Rolling Stones – who recently completed a European tour to critical acclaim – and, although The Kinks won’t be as "organised" as the ‘Angie’ hitmakers, he’s already got a load of songs he’s written for the band.
He said: "I’ve got all these songs that I wrote for the band when we – not broke up – parted company, and I think it’s kind of an appropriate time to do it."
However, Ray recently said that if him and his bandmates ever did get back together, they’d never play any big arenas because he’d rather just perform in pubs.
He said: "Don’t fancy playing The O2 though.
"If we got together again, we’d play a pub. No business sense at all!
"That’s part of the charm of The Kinks – we were never seduced by luxury."
Ray and Dave founded The Kinks in 1963 and split in 1996.
However, the brothers performed together for the first time in almost 20 years in 2015, when Ray joined Dave on stage in London for a performance of ‘You Really Got Me’.
The band has had a number of different line-ups over the years but the siblings have featured in each one.
The Kinks’ classic line-up featured Mick on drums and the late Pete Quaife on bass.
Quaife was replaced by John Dalton in 1969 while Bob Henrit took over from Avory in 1984.
The Kinks are getting back together
